Nearly all the workers of the Lowell textile mills of Massachusetts were unmarried daughters from farm families. Some of the workers were as young as 10. Since many people in the 1820s were disturbed by the idea of working females, the company provided well-kept dormitories and boardinghouses. The meals were decent and church attendance was mandatory. Compared to other factories of the time, the Lowell mills were clean and safe, and there was even a journal, The Lowell Offering, which contained poems and other material written by the workers, and which became known beyond New England. Ironically, it was at the Lowell mills that dissatisfaction with working conditions brought about the first organization of working women. The mills were highly mechanized, and were in fact considered a model of efficiency by others in the textile industry. The work was difficult, however, and the high level of standardization made it tedious. When wages were cut, the workers organized the Factory Girls Association. 15,000 women decided to “turn out,” or walk off the job. The Offering, meant as a pleasant creative outlet, gave the women a voice that could be heard by sympathetic people elsewhere in the country, and even in Europe. However, the ability of the women to demand changes was severely circumscribed by an inability to go for long without wages with which to support themselves and help support their families. This same limitation hampered the effectiveness of the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association (LFLRA), organized in 1844. No specific reform can be directly attributed to the Lowell workers, but their legacy is unquestionable. The LFLRA’s founder, Sarah Bagley, became a national figure, testifying before the Massachusetts House of Representatives. When the New England Labor Reform League was formed, three of the eight board members were women. Other mill workers took note of the Lowell strikes, and were successful in getting better pay, shorter hours, and safer working conditions. Even some existing child labor laws can be traced back to efforts first set in motion by the Lowell mills women. 1 D 1. According to the passage, which of the following contributed to the inability of the workers at Lowell to have their demands met? (A) The very young age of some of the workers made political organization impractical. (B) Social attitudes of the time pressured women into not making demands. (C) The Lowell Female Labor Reform Association was not organized until 1844. (D) Their families depended on the workers to send some of their wages home. (E) The people who were most sympathetic to the workers lived outside of New England. 2 A 2. The author of the passage implies that the efforts of the women workers at the Lowell mills ______. (A) were of less direct benefit to them than to other workers (B) led to the creation of child labor laws that benefited the youngest workers at the Lowell mills (C) forced the New England Labor Reform League to include three women on its board (D) were addressed in the poetry included in The Offering (E) were initially organized by Sarah Bagley 3 C 3. The author uses the word “Ironically” in the first paragraph to indicate that _______. (A) none of the people who ran the Lowell mills expected that the workers would organize to express dissatisfaction with working conditions (B) the women who worked at the Lowell mills did not realize how fortunate they were to work at such a place (C) it could be considered surprising that an early effort to demand better working conditions began in an environment that was especially designed to promote worker satisfaction (D) the people who created the working environment for the women at the Lowell mills did not really understand what it was they needed (E) it was unusual for women workers of the time to organize, regardless of their work environment 4 C 4. The primary purpose of the passage is to do which of the following? (A) Describe the labor reforms that can be attributed to the workers at the Lowell mills (B) Criticize the proprietors of the Lowell mills for their labor practices (C) Suggest that the Lowell mills played a large role in the labor reform movement (D) Describe the conditions under which the Lowell mills employees worked (E) Analyze the business practices of early American factories

anushree01 You're right that it was the women workers who actually organized and protested, not the mill owners or buildings themselves. Here's the key insight: In RC answer choices, "Lowell mills" is used as shorthand for the entire Lowell mills phenomenon - the workplace, the workers, the organizations, everything associated with it. This is called metonymy, where an institution or place name represents the people and activities connected to it. Evidence from the passage: "it was at the Lowell mills that dissatisfaction...brought about the first organization of working women" - here the mills represent the context/location where workers organized The passage uses "the Lowell workers," "the Lowell mills women," and "the Lowell mills" interchangeably throughout Final sentence: "efforts first set in motion by the Lowell mills women " - showing these workers are inseparable from the Lowell mills identity The broader phrasing "Lowell mills" captures the entire phenomenon while still crediting the workers, who are the central part of this story. Think of it like this: When we say "Silicon Valley revolutionized technology," we don't mean the geographic valley did it - we mean the people and companies there. Same principle applies here. Here's my suggestion for Primary Purpose questions: Don't be overly literal with institutional or place names in answer choices - they typically encompass the people and activities associated with them. Focus on whether the choice captures the passage's main thrust. If you catch yourself thinking "but technically , it wasn't X, it was Y within X," you're likely overthinking the distinction. Hope this helps clear your confusion. If you still have any follow-up questions, feel free to ask

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Nearly all the workers of the Lowell textile mills of Massachusetts we

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KarishmaB

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4. The primary purpose of the passage is to do which of the following?

(A) Describe the labor reforms that can be attributed to the workers at the Lowell mills
(B) Criticize the proprietors of the Lowell mills for their labor practices
(C) Suggest that the Lowell mills played a large role in the labor reform movement
(D) Describe the conditions under which the Lowell mills employees worked
(E) Analyze the business practices of early American factories

VeritasKarishma
The choice C says that the author is suggesting something, but I did not find any sentence in the passage where the author made any suggestion. How the word suggest in choice C makes sense?

When an author writes a passage, it is because she wants to tell us something/suggest something. It just means she wants to say something. The word "suggest" is used in this context. The purpose of the passage is to suggest (to tell us) that the Lowell mills played a large role in labor reform movement.
The author talks about conditions at Lowell mills (first para), the reform efforts of women there (second para) and how they contributed to eventual reforms (third para).

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^^ ‘Other mill workers’ means what, actually? Is it only men? Or women? Or combination of both men and women? It seems that it means combination of both men and women.
Question stem talks about ‘women’. Isn’t that ‘women’ overlaps the ‘other mill workers’?
If yes, how the answer choice A talks about LESS? If the passage says something (instead of 'Other mill workers') other than women, then we can say that women get LESS direct benefit.

Also, can I say choice B is wrong because it talked about 'youngest' (out of scope)?
Thanks__

Note the first sentence:
"Nearly all the workers of the Lowell textile mills of Massachusetts were unmarried daughters from farm families."

Lowell mill workers were almost all women. They made efforts to improve worker conditions. Though their efforts did not have a lot of impact on them, but workers of other mills (men/women/children - irrelevant) benefited.
So (A) is correct.

As for (B), all we know is "Even some existing child labor laws can be traced back to efforts first set in motion by the Lowell mills women."
Did these laws actually benefit any Lowell mills children? We don't know.

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VeritasKarishma

TheUltimateWinner

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VeritasKarishma
Thanks for the kind response.
I've seen so many official RC where author did not put his/her own suggestion/opinion. S/he just wrote whole the passage with so many facts. In that time, I like to choose the word describe instead of suggest!
But, it seems that author is going to criticize with the following sentence.

Quote:

However, the ability of the women to demand changes was severely circumscribed by an inability to go for long without wages with which to support themselves and help support their families.

^^ The author is criticizing by the word however, I guess. Am I missing anything, mam?

The following sentence is also the negative tone of the passage, so the word criticize instead suggest makes sense to me.

Quote:

No specific reform can be directly attributed to the Lowell workers, but their legacy is unquestionable.

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Thanks for the kind response.
I've seen so many official RC where author did not put his/her own suggestion/opinion. S/he just wrote whole the passage with so many facts. In that time, I like to choose the word describe instead of suggest!
But, it seems that author is going to criticize with the following sentence.

Quote:

However, the ability of the women to demand changes was severely circumscribed by an inability to go for long without wages with which to support themselves and help support their families.

Quote:

No specific reform can be directly attributed to the Lowell workers, but their legacy is unquestionable.

Even when the author gives just 'facts', they are all leading up to a conclusion. Think about why you would write an article on XYZ - because you want to tell people something about XYZ. The motive you have for writing (e.g. "I want to tell people that XYZ played a big role in ABC" or "I want to tell people that XYZ is expected to return good profits next year" etc) is the main purpose. Sometimes, it may be clearly mentioned in the passage, sometimes it may be something you need to infer.

Also, use of one or two words will not tell you the tone of the passage. The same words could be used in different contexts to mean different things. And again, use of one word in an option does not make it correct. The author does not criticize the proprietors of the Lowell mills for their labor practices. If anything, he thinks that conditions at Lowell were better than those at other mills and that it was ironic that the first dissatisfaction with working conditions was observed at Lowell Mills.

"...Compared to other factories of the time, the Lowell mills were clean and safe, and there was even a journal,.. Ironically, it was at the Lowell mills that dissatisfaction with working conditions brought about the first organization of working women."

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VeritasKarishma

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Quote:

However, the ability of the women to demand changes was severely circumscribed by an inability to go for long without wages with which to support themselves and help support their families.

Quote:

No specific reform can be directly attributed to the Lowell workers, but their legacy is unquestionable.

VeritasKarishma
So, from the highlighted part, it seems that author does not write any passage where there is no opinion of the author, right? But, I say few official RC where the author does not have any opinion. I mean, the author does not put his/her own CONCLUSION! What is your thought about those RC?
Thank you mam..

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So, from the highlighted part, it seems that author does not write any passage where there is no opinion of the author, right? But, I say few official RC where the author does not have any opinion. I mean, the author does not put his/her own CONCLUSION! What is your thought about those RC?
Thank you mam..

When the author does not give his own opinion, his purpose may be to give you an overview of the situation or to describe an event etc. If he describes it completely objectively, the test will not ask you what he thinks about it. Though normally GMAT RC passages will not be so cut and dry.

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4. The primary purpose of the passage is to do which of the following?
(A) Describe the labor reforms that can be attributed to the workers at the Lowell mills
(B) Criticize the proprietors of the Lowell mills for their labor practices
(C) Suggest that the Lowell mills played a large role in the labor reform movement
(D) Describe the conditions under which the Lowell mills employees worked
(E) Analyze the business practices of early American factories

I still dont understand how C is correct! Lowell mills didnt play a large role in reform rather the Lowell mill women workers did!!

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anushree01

4. The primary purpose of the passage is to do which of the following?
(A) Describe the labor reforms that can be attributed to the workers at the Lowell mills
(B) Criticize the proprietors of the Lowell mills for their labor practices
(C) Suggest that the Lowell mills played a large role in the labor reform movement
(D) Describe the conditions under which the Lowell mills employees worked
(E) Analyze the business practices of early American factories

I still dont understand how C is correct! Lowell mills didnt play a large role in reform rather the Lowell mill women workers did!!

anushree01 You're right that it was the women workers who actually organized and protested, not the mill owners or buildings themselves.

Here's the key insight:

In RC answer choices, "Lowell mills" is used as shorthand for the entire Lowell mills phenomenon - the workplace, the workers, the organizations, everything associated with it. This is called metonymy, where an institution or place name represents the people and activities connected to it.

Evidence from the passage:

"it was at the Lowell mills that dissatisfaction...brought about the first organization of working women" - here the mills represent the context/location where workers organized
The passage uses "the Lowell workers," "the Lowell mills women," and "the Lowell mills" interchangeably throughout
Final sentence: "efforts first set in motion by the Lowell mills women" - showing these workers are inseparable from the Lowell mills identity

The broader phrasing "Lowell mills" captures the entire phenomenon while still crediting the workers, who are the central part of this story.

Think of it like this: When we say "Silicon Valley revolutionized technology," we don't mean the geographic valley did it - we mean the people and companies there. Same principle applies here.

Here's my suggestion for Primary Purpose questions:

Don't be overly literal with institutional or place names in answer choices - they typically encompass the people and activities associated with them. Focus on whether the choice captures the passage's main thrust. If you catch yourself thinking "but technically, it wasn't X, it was Y within X," you're likely overthinking the distinction.

Hope this helps clear your confusion. If you still have any follow-up questions, feel free to ask

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Thank You the explanation is really helpful!!

egmat

"it was at the Lowell mills that dissatisfaction...brought about the first organization of working women" - here the mills represent the context/location where workers organized
The passage uses "the Lowell workers," "the Lowell mills women," and "the Lowell mills" interchangeably throughout
Final sentence: "efforts first set in motion by the Lowell mills women" - showing these workers are inseparable from the Lowell mills identity

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(C) Suggest that the Lowell mills played a large role in the labor reform movement

Direct reading of statement says 'Lowell mills' played a role in the labor reform movement.
But reading of passage tells that the women who worked there played a role, not the 'mill' itself. I trained myself to read these fine details and went wrong with the question.

MartyMurray KarishmaB chetan2u @dimitryfarber please help. Was my reading incorrect or is it something else?

Nevernevergiveup

Nearly all the workers of the Lowell textile mills of Massachusetts were unmarried daughters from farm families. Some of the workers were as young as 10. Since many people in the 1820s were disturbed by the idea of working females, the company provided well-kept dormitories and boardinghouses. The meals were decent and church attendance was mandatory. Compared to other factories of the time, the Lowell mills were clean and safe, and there was even a journal, The Lowell Offering, which contained poems and other material written by the workers, and which became known beyond New England. Ironically, it was at the Lowell mills that dissatisfaction with working conditions brought about the first organization of working women.

The mills were highly mechanized, and were in fact considered a model of efficiency by others in the textile industry. The work was difficult, however, and the high level of standardization made it tedious. When wages were cut, the workers organized the Factory Girls Association. 15,000 women decided to “turn out,” or walk off the job. The Offering, meant as a pleasant creative outlet, gave the women a voice that could be heard by sympathetic people elsewhere in the country, and even in Europe. However, the ability of the women to demand changes was severely circumscribed by an inability to go for long without wages with which to support themselves and help support their families. This same limitation hampered the effectiveness of the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association (LFLRA), organized in 1844.

No specific reform can be directly attributed to the Lowell workers, but their legacy is unquestionable. The LFLRA’s founder, Sarah Bagley, became a national figure, testifying before the Massachusetts House of Representatives. When the New England Labor Reform League was formed, three of the eight board members were women. Other mill workers took note of the Lowell strikes, and were successful in getting better pay, shorter hours, and safer working conditions. Even some existing child labor laws can be traced back to efforts first set in motion by the Lowell mills women.

Show Spoiler

1. According to the passage, which of the following contributed to the inability of the workers at Lowell to have their demands met?

(A) The very young age of some of the workers made political organization impractical.
(B) Social attitudes of the time pressured women into not making demands.
(C) The Lowell Female Labor Reform Association was not organized until 1844.
(D) Their families depended on the workers to send some of their wages home.
(E) The people who were most sympathetic to the workers lived outside of New England.

Show Spoiler

2. The author of the passage implies that the efforts of the women workers at the Lowell mills ______.

(A) were of less direct benefit to them than to other workers
(B) led to the creation of child labor laws that benefited the youngest workers at the Lowell mills
(C) forced the New England Labor Reform League to include three women on its board
(D) were addressed in the poetry included in The Offering
(E) were initially organized by Sarah Bagley

Show Spoiler

3. The author uses the word “Ironically” in the first paragraph to indicate that _______.

(A) none of the people who ran the Lowell mills expected that the workers would organize to express dissatisfaction with working conditions
(B) the women who worked at the Lowell mills did not realize how fortunate they were to work at such a place
(C) it could be considered surprising that an early effort to demand better working conditions began in an environment that was especially designed to promote worker satisfaction
(D) the people who created the working environment for the women at the Lowell mills did not really understand what it was they needed
(E) it was unusual for women workers of the time to organize, regardless of their work environment

Show Spoiler

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Su1206

It generally works well to pay attention to such details in RC passages and questions.

At the same time, in this case, we have to be a little flexible for a few reasons.

One is that the point of the passage isn't just about the women who worked in the mills. Notice that even the fact that the Lowell mills had a journal, The Offering, factored into the events that occurred. So, we can say that something about the mills themselves, and not just the women who worked there, figured into the labor reform-related events that occurred.

Also, in general, it makes sense to be a little flexible in this case because the women did work at the mills and were called "Lowell mill workers" and "Lowell mill women" in the passage. So, the point is that people who worked at the mills, who in essence are what made the mills go and thus can be considered part of the mills, took the actions discussed.

Also, we can see that the passage is just as much about the mills as about the women who worked there.

So, it's reasonable to say that the point of the passage is that "the Lowell mills" played a role in the labor reform movement.

Finally, there's no other answer choice that works better.

So, we can safely go with (C).

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19 Oct 2025, 23:22

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Thank you Sir!

I have scheduled my test for this week. With useful insights from you and other teachers, I am consistently scoring 83-85 on verbal! Thanks for this tip too. Ill keep this in mind on exam day!!

MartyMurray

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